Posts Tagged with Pushkinpress

Melt by Ele Fountain: Book Review

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A heart-warming coming of age story set against the back drop of fast paced survival adventure in the snowy wilderness of northern Canada. This story has it all: well developed characters, an action-packed adventure in the wilderness, secrets to unravel and some wider messages about: taking risks, global warming and how we treat our planet.  I highly recommend it for ages 9 to 80!

Written as a dual narrative from the perspective of two teenagers Bea and Yutu. The young people don’t know each other at the start of their story, but they end up depending on each other for their survival. 

Bea and Yutu are struggling with transitions in their lives. Bea has just moved house for the 5th time in 5 years.  She is finding it hard to find her place in her new school, and her dad seems distracted and distant with his work. Yutu lives with his grandma in a remote Arctic village not accessible by roads. He is beginning to wonder about his future in the world and what lies beyond his village. He is wondering if his grandma will let him take the necessary risks to explore the wilderness on his own.

Bea and her dad share an interest, which is flying small aircraft together. So when Bea’s dad asks her to accompany him on a work flight into the Arctic circle she in initially excited. However, when things take a turn for the worse, her life collides with Yutu and they find themselves depending on each other for their survival. 

To find out more about this book and for some insights into Ele Fountains writing process check out my Blog Tour post here. 

Thank you to publishers Pushkin Press for an advance copy of the book and inviting me to take part in the blog tour (details below, insert jpeg). 

To see my interview with author Ele Fountain check out my next post

 

The books is available to buy from me at Readers that Care click here.

 

 

Duncan Versus the Googleys – Kate Milner

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There have been many original stories published for children aged 7 to 9 year years in the past few years. This is certainly one of them.  Duncan versus the Googleys would come near the top of this list for its quirky, wacky and original story-line which make it a very unique story. Duncan is sent to live with his Great-Aunt for the summer holidays, who is not pleased to see him. However, all is not what is seems in Arthritis Hall.  With the help of the caretakers daughter Ursula, Duncan begins to unravel what is going on.  This story will keep readers of all ages intrigued and engaged with its unravelling plot lines and all sorts of quirky ‘incidents’ where you never quite sure what will happen next. It comes with a warning that if you prefer linear and predictable stories this may not be for you:

“It is only fair to warn you, before we go much further, that so much in this story is upside down, backwards, twisted, devious and downright peculiar. It is not a story for the faint-hearted. …….If you are the kind of person who likes things to plod along in a predictable fashion from A to B then this story is not for you.  I would suggest you go and do something useful instead, like sorting out your socks. ” (p12)

One of the fascinating things about Kate Milner’s story it the way an online game world is intertwined with the mysterious goings on in a big large house.  Duncan loves playing a game called Poo-Chi Planet. So does an old lady called Mrs Pettigrew!  Duncan has three gaming friends that live in other parts of the world: RatboyRyan ( Australia) Kobe (Kenya) and a Chinese girl called Zhang who lives in Shanghai. When Duncan and Ursula get into a tricky situation with an unusual robotic monster called Fluffkin, can the coding and hacking skills of his gaming friends help them understand this monster in time to save the day?

If this hasn’t already got your attention there is plenty more going on. Duncan’s Great-Aunt is gathering a collection of crooks and villains for her big plan. They are gathering under the disguise of a ‘Knitting Circle’.  The illustrator had added some of her own illustrations which really help to bring some of the characters to life. The Great-Aunt also seems to have some way of seeing what goes on everywhere (well almost everywhere) in this big large house, but luckily for Duncan Ursula knows many secret passageways. There is also a plot to unravel about who the Googleys are and what their connection is to Arthritis hall.

There is both a directness and unique perspective to the narrative voice. Which helps to bring it all together. It provided just the kind of wry humour and observational perspectives that I needed to distract me in these extra-ordinary times we are currently living in.

I would highly recommend it to children and adults aged 8 to 88 years. Please note because the plot jumps about a bit, some less confident readers may need an adult to share this story with them – but then again they may be more than happy to be absorbed in all the quirky and slightly off the wall detail!

You can buy a copy from my small online bookshop, Readers that Care, here.

Thanks to Pushkin Press for a free copy to review. You can find about other books they publish here.